Iron Man: A Knight for A New Age
by Courier999
Summary: Wounded in a weapons test, Tony Stark takes the life-saving surgery as well as the next guy…by building a series of suits of powered armor to fight criminals and other things. Rated T for sexual innuendos, language, violence, and scary content. Set in the same universe as "Spider-Man: Partners in Crime." R&R!
1. Chapter 1

IRON MAN: A Knight for A New Age

_Iron Man_ and related characters are property of Marvel.

Chapter 1: A Gilded Age

"Impressed, Senator Kelly?"

The white-suited senator looked away from the display of prototype technology and refocused his attention on his guide.

"Mister Stark, I am disappointed. I was under the impression that your company was developing an improved Sentinel-"

"And have all the big civil rights organizations harping on Stark Industries?"

"Anthony, don't you forget-"

Tony Stark mentally ignored the senator's tirade for some time.

"-what you're not willing to do, AIM is."

"Senator, I'm going to have to ask you to leave now."

"You-"

"Please leave, unless you want Happy Hogan to make you leave."

"I'll be back, Anthony!"

And with that, Senator Kelly left the building.

"_Sir, I have General Ross calling-_"

"Patch him through, JARVIS."

The AI grumbled a bit before activating the car's speaker phone.

"General, you wanted to talk to me?"

"_Yes, Stark. We're testing out your Jericho missiles tonight on San Nicolas. Be there- you won't want to miss it._"

"Bye, General."

JARVIS shut off the speaker phone.

"There's your target, Stark." Ross announced.

Tony squinted a bit before seeing a derelict Roxxon tanker squatting some distance off the coast.

"When do we start, General?"

"Right now."

Ross pressed a button, and two of the prototype missiles went soaring into the air.

"Why aren't they arcing down?"

As if on cue, the missiles split into 16 smaller missiles each. All rained down upon the tanker, which promptly exploded into a shower of metal shrapnel.

"Success!"

At that moment, Tony felt several small sharp objects enter his body, and he collapsed upon the scene.

"Mister Stark! Are you okay?"

Tony shook his head.

"Wilson, get him to the mainland and to an ER! Pronto!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Miserable Little Pile of Secrets

"Good mornin' to ye, mister Stark."

Tony's eyes opened wide, and a brunette woman in scrubs was standing over him.

"Morning, Doctor-"

"MacTaggert. Moira MacTaggert."

Tony examined his surroundings. As he did so, he noticed a blue light on his chest.

"What the-"

"Ye had shrapnel ready to impale yer pericardium. Too risky to remove it a' the time, so I installed one o' those new arc reactors to keep the fragments from killin' ye."

"What's this mean for me, Doc?"

"Tony Stark, yer a dead man walkin'. If that gizmo croaks, yer goin' onto the 'ereafter."

"So how do I keep from crossing over?"

"Keep that arc reactor intact."

"Got it."


	3. Mark I

Chapter 3: Mark I

SOME DAYS LATER:

"_Mister Stark, you've been in there long enough._"

"JARVIS, I'm working here!"

"_Sir, you have neglected personal hygiene and dietary intake for the past week and a half. Even I can smell you, and I don't have a nose or a nervous system._"

"Do you have anything better to do besides nag me?"

"_No, actually. Ever since you got home, you have not ordered me to do anything. I took advantage of this to get some vital tasks done._"

"Like what?"

"_Manage your stocks, alphabetize your album collection and then turn them into MP3 files, and so on._"

"Well then, I have an order for you."

"_I'm listening._"

TWO WEEKS LATER:

"_Sir, I don't get it_."

"Get what, JARVIS?"

"_That suit you've built._"

Tony turned and looked in the mirror. Upon his body was a bulky gunmetal gray suit of powered armor, with an expressionless visor covering his face.

"It's a sort of an aid."

"_Perhaps you ought to test it, sir._"

"Will do."

"Put your hands behind your head and nobody gets hurt!"

A teller nodded as a masked woman waved a .475 Wildey around, while her cohorts began to carry away large amounts of cash.

"_All units, we have a Code Thirty Ringer at Kirby Savings and Loans on Sunset. Suspect is armed and dangerous and wearing a gold mask._"

From within his suit, Tony listened to the police band radio.

_Well, looks like a good combat trial_.

He grinned as he began to run to the bank in question.

"LAPD! We have you surrounded!"

The masked woman lay crouched behind a hastily-erected barricade, her goons firing wildly upon the police.

_Damn. Should've planned this one better._ the woman thought as she reloaded her revolver.

Outside the bank, one of the policemen sat crouched behind his squad car with a shotgun in hand when he saw a large gray form approach the bank.

_The hell_?

The form came closer, and the policeman saw that it was a man in some unusual suit of armor.

_Who's that guy think he is?_

The man approached an officer and began speaking. The officer in question nodded, and the armored man left.

_What just happened?_

The masked woman heard the sound of glass shattering from the front of the bank. She craned her neck over the barricade and noticed a man in a large suit of armor of sorts.

"Who the hell are you?"

"The same could be asked of you, miss."

"I am Madame Masque!"

"Well then, I guess you can call me Iron Man."

Madame Masque raised her revolver and shot at the newly-monikered Iron Man. To her surprise, the bullet ricocheted off the interloper's chest plate.

"Resistant to small arms fire."

Madam Masque looked on in horror as Iron Man picked her up and threw her like a ragdoll.

"_How was the field test, sir?_"

"Fine, JARVIS. Absolutely fine."

"_Were you at Kirby Savings and Loans at any point during the trial?_"

"Yes."

"_Thought so._"


	4. Mark II

Chapter 4: Mark II

"_Another one, sir?_"

"Yes, JARVIS. It gives me something to do."

"_But a flying suit of armor? Do you really need it?_"

"Makes for a good opportunity to test the repulsors. Also, the onboard version of you."

"_But sir, the wings are starting to ice over at these altitudes-_"

Stark fell like a stone into an orange grove.

_Back to the drawing board…_ he thought as he rose from his position.


	5. Extremis- Part 1

Chapter 5: Extremis, Part 1

"Impressed, Mister Stark?"

Tony looked up and saw a younger man staring at him.

"What's all this supposed to be again, Mister Killian?"

"You can call me Aldrich."

"Fine, Aldrich. What's so interesting that you're asking for me to invest in?"

"We call it Extremis."

"And what's it supposed to do?"

Killian turned to his guest, a look of irritation in his eyes.

"It can do wonders. Regeneration of lost limbs and sense organs, treatments for all manner of illnesses- you name it."

"Sounds like a pipe dream. Sorry, but I can't sign on to this one."

And with that, Tony departed the lab complex.

THAT NIGHT:

"Aldrich-"

"What is it this time, Pepper?"

A blonde swiveled around, a stack of papers in her hand.

"FDA's refusing to approve your wonder drug."

"Wha-"

The papers landed on Killian's desk. Every other page was adorned with a full-color picture of deformed volunteer after deformed volunteer.

"So we work out the kinks, resubmit it-"

"I'm sorry, Aldrich, but as your main investor, I'm pulling the plug on Extremis."

Killian's eyes lit up in rage as he shot out of his chair and grasped onto Pepper's arm.

"Let go of me, you maniac!"

Suddenly, the scent of burnt skin rose from Pepper's arm. Killian withdrew his grasp, only to see a hand-shaped burn on the grab site.

"No. It can't be. I'm not one of them!"


	6. Extremis- Part 2

Chapter 6: Extremis, Part 2

"You've got to be wrong, doctor! Tell me it isn't true!"

The doctor looked up from her paperwork.

"Mister Killian, there's no use denying that you have an active X-Gene. You're just going to have to live with it-"

"Live with it? LIVE WITH IT?! I'm not going to turn into one of those Morlocks! I can't let it happen! I _won't_ let it happen!"

"Aldrich, you're not going to turn into a Morlock. It's a very rare occurrence for that to happen-"

Killian stormed out of the doctor's office.

_I'm not going to be a mutant if I can help it. Lucky me, I've got a ticket out of this…_


	7. Extremis- Part 3

Chapter 7: Extremis, Part 3

"_Oh, another one. I take it you solved the icing problem, sir._"

Tony Stark glared at the monitor in his garage.

"You'll never let me live that one down, will you?"

"_I won't, sir._"

"Just get the new one ready."

"_And presenting: the Mark III._"

A series of robot arms began to place the armor on Stark in piecemeal.

"_Red and gold, sir? Isn't that more than a little bit tacky?_"

"Silence from the peanut gallery."

"Aldrich, you're nuts. You read the report. Extremis isn't safe for use."

"Just do it, Maya. Just…purge me of this mutant blood."

Maya Hansen looked at her former boss as he lay sprawled across an operating table, while all manner of tubes ran into a series of entry points laid across his body.

"What are you waiting for? DO IT!"

Hansen opened the floodgates and watched as her creation ran into Killian's veins. Without much delay, changes began to take hold, and a cloud of acrid smoke rose from the operating table.

_Something's wrong. It shouldn't be doing that._

About an hour later, Killian rose up from the bed, tearing the depleted IVs from his body. Hansen looked on in horror as she saw what looked like a corroded area in the general shape of a man.

"Aldrich? Tell me you're-"

Just then, the skin on her shoulders began to burn.

"What's happened-"

Hansen looked up to see Killian holding her in a vise-like grip.

"You screwed it up, Maya. YOU SCREWED IT UP, AND YOU SCREWED ME UP WITH IT! Now, it's my turn to reciprocate!"

Maya screamed in agony as her boss pressed the palm of his hand into her cheek, burning away the skin.

"YOU SCREWED IT UP, WOMAN!"

Hansen fell into the fetal position, whimpering as Killian left.

"Virginia Potts and Tony Stark, you will be the next to feel the burn!"


	8. Extremis- Part 4

Chapter 8: Extremis, Part 4

"Pepper Potts? I think it's kind of cute."

The blonde gave a slight chuckle at Tony Stark's quip.

"You're such a kidder, Mister Stark."

"Call me Tony. Everyone does."

"I'll keep that in mind for the future."

A buzzing sound filled the dining room.

"JARVIS, this had better be important."

"_I'm sorry, sir. Next time, I will file 'unknown woman desperately pounding on front door' as unimportant_-"

Tony leapt to his feet and ran to the door.

"Hello?"

The woman bolted in, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Who are you?"

"Hansen. Maya Hansen. I'm from the Extremis project-"

Before Maya could finish, Tony caught sight of a man in a white suit walking up to the house.

"JARVIS, identify."

"_It seems that your friend Aldrich Killian- what's he doing to the birdbath?_"

Maya ran for it as Killian approached the door.

"_I know you're in there, Stark. Come out, come out, wherever you are._" he taunted over the security camera.

"JARVIS, keep him out for as long as pos-"

The door swung open, and the intruder walked in.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

As if answering his own question, Killian picked up a candelabra and let it corrode in his hands.

"What the-"

"Just a natural gift, albeit amped up by that wonder drug you refused to invest in."

Tony was speechless.

"You ready to feel the burn, Stark?"

Before Killian could perform the deed, Tony's foot collided with his groin.

"JARVIS, lock down the dining room. And while you're at it, get the Mark III ready!"

"_On it, sir_."

_Come on, Tony. It's not polite to keep a woman waiting_.

Pepper impatiently drummed her fingers on the dining room table.

"Oh well. Guess he got cold-"

Suddenly, a cloud of acrid smoke began to rise from a nearby room.

"What the-"

"Virginia, we meet again."

Pepper turned her head and watched as Aldrich Killian walked in.

"If this is about the funding, then this isn't the way you'll have any chance-"

"It's not about the funding anymore, Virginia."

Killian picked up a fork and let it corrode into molten slag in his hands.

"It's about revenge."


	9. Extremis- Part 5

Chapter 9: Extremis, Part 5

"Burn, baby, burn." Killian gloated as he loomed over a cornered Pepper.

"It was nothing personal, Aldrich! I'd have given you full investment if Extremis had worked-"

"Irrelevant. You still burned me, as it were. Allow me to reciprocate the feeling in more ways than one."

Pepper winced as her former client lowered his hand towards her.

"Hands off her, buddy!"

Killian turned around to see Iron Man in his latest armor, his left repulsor crackling with power.

"Oh, the metal man cometh. I'm shaking in my designer boots."

"Step away from her. Now."

Killian lunged at his opponent, sending them both flying out into the mansion's terrace in a shower of broken glass.

"Cool off."

He went flying into a swimming pool next door, courtesy of a repulsor blast.

"That should hold-"

Stark cut himself off as he saw a soaked Killian climb out of the pool and into a sports car.

"_Sir, he's getting a-_"

"I know that. Track him for me, and get the cops."

"_On it._"

Killian scrambled out of the remains of his stolen vehicle and into the roadside ditch he had crashed in, while the lights of police cars came into view.

"Just as I thought. One of Stark's neighbors called in the law."

"_LAPD! Put your hands up!_"

Three policemen approached the crashed vehicle and watched as its driver climbed up to them.

"Nice guns, officers. Pity that they can just-"

Killian yanked away their weapons and let them corrode in his grasp.

"-melt away in an instant."

The officers stared on in stunned silence, only to witness Iron Man descending from the sky.

"You're a persistent one, aren't you? But enough talk- have at you!"

Tony winced as Killian punched him in the gut, staggering him and sending him into the ditch. A few seconds later, the latter found himself on the receiving end of his stolen automobile.

"Nobody could-"

The car went flying back, with Killian seemingly no worse for the wear.

"You don't get it, Iron Man. I am Extremis incarnate!"

He leapt into the air, grabbed onto a helicopter's landing skids, and threw the pilot out before assuming control.

"Try and keep up!"

Tony blasted off from the ground and sent the helicopter spiraling down with a single wrist-mounted rocket.

"Don't need to."

_Try and survive that, buddy_. he thought.

As if on cue, Killian clawed his way out of the wreckage, with an aura of flame surrounding him. A psychotic laugh emanated from his surprisingly intact vocal cords.

"I am unstoppable!"

Just then, a fleet of black helicopters descended upon the scene.

"What the-"

"_Sir, I suggest you get out of here…_"


End file.
